Often, I get complaints from Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) workers and leaders that Minute Mirror gives explicit and prominent coverage to their rivals – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan People’s Party. Well, they may be true or not, but I am dead sure about the impartiality of my newsroom.
I have my own political leanings. I personally consider the no-confidence motion against the prime minister is ill-timed, inappropriate, and against the democratic norms. I do have my own set of reservations about the PTI’s political conduct and poor government affairs.
But this does not give a license to the opposition to procure ‘dissidents’ among the PTI lawmakers to dislodge the prime minister. As millions of Pakistanis, I am a strong supporter of Imran Khan’s right to complete his constitutional term. But Imran Khan is good at committing self-goal, despite having his stance superior. In the ongoing no-confidence motion saga, he is unnecessarily sitting on the resolution. The best move should have been the immediate convening of the National Assembly session. This should have been as per the traditional principles. This would have given a clear message to all those who are concerned that the Prime Minister’s Office is a temporary place for him just like his predecessors. If the no-confidence motion against him was successful, he would have first gone to Bani Gala for much-needed rest. After a few days’ break, he should have gone to the people and thundered why he was removed from his post by the divided opposition. By exposing the lotacracy, he would have started preparations for the next election. The level of public support would have put his successor on troubled grounds.
The ensuing months are not a bed of roses for the government, no matter whosoever is running it.
Under an agreement with international monetary institutions signed in 2019, the government is bound to hike electricity, gas, and petrol prices in 2022. In case of the success of the no-trust motion, Imran Khan would be telling the people what the opposition has been saying so. The government of the day will raise the rates, blaming Imran Khan for bad IMF deals. Imran Khan has recently refused to raise electricity and petrol prices and instead offered several concessions and an amnesty scheme in the name of promoting industrialization in the country.
In other words, he has shown red rag to a bull called the IMF.
Instead of going for a long-term fight, Imran Khan has picked short-term fights. By delaying the convening of the National Assembly session, the government party has in fact, given a message that they do not have the support of 172 members in the 342-member House. Imran Khan wants to demonstrate his power with his one million supporters in Islamabad on March 27. The joint opposition will encounter the million march in a befitting manner. The coming days will see the rule of mobs over Islamabad. In that case, we may see the repeat of the 1993-situation when Benazir Bhutto started her march on Islamabad, the army intervened and both sides ended up agreeing to a formula carved out by the then army chief.
Are we going to see the coming of a ‘Bajwa formula’ this time?
